As business leaders gathered for an update on the 2012 Olympics, Business
Minister Mark Prisk encouraged small and medium businesses to make the most
of opportunities.

"They are a global shop window, which we can use to showcase the very best that this country has to offer."

That was the message about the 2012 Olympics from Mark Prisk, the Business Minister, this week as he spoke at a summit organised by the Government to promote the opportunities available to businesses from the Games.

The Olympic Sponsors' Summit is one of a handful of initiatives the Government and Olympic authorities are now cranking up behind the scenes as it strives to help the Games boost the UK economy. On Thursday, some of the most influential business leaders in Britain also gathered for an update on the Olympic 2012 project.

The Games potentially offer the UK and its economy a good news story at a time when consumer confidence is taking a battering from public spending cuts. Yesterday, for example, property agent Savills forecast that prices in the UK's prime housing market will surge in 2012 as the Olympics boost sentiment and attract new international buyers to the country. In Central London, Savills said prime prices could rise by 10pc in 2012, compared to a 1pc fall in 2011.

However, the need for Government encouragement has been highlight after a report by Deloitte found Britain could miss out on the full economic benefits of hosting the 2012 Olympics because businesses are not prepared for the Games and have mixed views about its potential impact.

"The London 2012 Olympic Games are an unrivalled opportunity for our country and our businesses to sell themselves right around the globe," Mr Prisk urged the 200 small, medium and large business leaders present at the conference on Tuesday. "They are a global shop window, which we can use to showcase the very best that this country has to offer."

To support business, UK Trade and Investment has created a programme called Host 2 Host which is using its overseas relationships to help UK companies win work on future major sporting events, such as the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which are expected to be worth up to $60bn (£37bn) in new business.

However, Mr Prisk said Government support was "only one part of the picture", adding: "Business networks, mentoring schemes are excellent ways of tapping into the vast reservoir of knowledge and expertise that exists among fellow business men and women."

Therefore, also addressing the conference were representatives from Lloyds and BT, while Gerry Walsh, the procurement director for Locog, revealed that around £250m of contracts are still to be offered by the organising committee. These include bus services, press centre furniture, blinds and curtains for the Olympic village, the horses for the modern pentathlon, whistles and high security fencing.

With collaboration and communication being encouraged, board members from the leading 2012 sponsors – including Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways, and Peter Ayliffe, chief executive of Visa Europe – gathered yesterday for the annual Chairman's Club meeting. Held in the boardroom at the Aquatics Centre development site, Lord Coe, Paul Deighton, chief executive of Locog, and Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, briefed the business leaders on the progress of construction and sought information on their own Olympic community initiatives.

At the meeting, Locog and the ODA are understood to have told businesses that the velodrome is around six months ahead of schedule in construction after giving a tour of the site.

Heather Hancock, the London 2012 partner at Deloitte, who was present at the meeting, said: "This has never happened with the Olympics before. It is a way for business leaders who are investing hundreds of millions of pounds of their company's money to see progress. It provided confidence to businesses about the delivery of the Games."

The potential results of business and Government collaboration were in evident yesterday as the Prime Minister, visiting the Olympic site in Stratford for the first time, unveiled plans to create a new "Silicon Valley" in East London, centred around the Olympic Park.

Intel will establish a new research lab, Cisco, an Olympic sponsor, is investing in an innovation centre, and the Olympic Park Legacy Company hopes to convert the international broadcast centre and main press centre into office space for technology businesses after the Games.

"Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and the incredible possibilities of the Olympic Park to help make East London one of the world's great technology centres," Mr Cameron said. The response from businesses to the plans have been "overwhelming", he added.

The CBI called the plan "exciting". John Cridland, deputy director-general, added: "We need growth to generate jobs and wealth in the future. This exciting plan for East London is the first part of a broader strategy for growth that the Prime Minister announced at the CBI's conference."